Why is the Supporters Trust Silent?

[ex_user1234]

For those of you fervently defending The Trust at all costs, I'm afraid it's not reciprocated. The higher-ups loathe Exeweb. That alone should make you sit up and think. Perhaps it might be worth asking yourself why they have been planning on setting up their own forum on the Trust website...

 

[Anonymous]

 

[ex_user1234]

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First they ignore you...

 

[Hants_red]

Is that the best that you can come up with as click bait ?

It wasn't.

 

[RedPaul]

For those of you fervently defending The Trust at all costs, I'm afraid it's not reciprocated. The higher-ups loathe Exeweb. That alone should make you sit up and think. Perhaps it might be worth asking yourself why they have been planning on setting up their own forum on the Trust website...

Which they are perfectly entitled to do, to coin a phrase, and it would seem a good way of engaging with fans / trust members on issues and driving traffic to the Trust site, maybe even for some commercial benefit. I'd be more concerned if they weren't thinking of it.

Think you exaggerate the 'defending at all costs' feeling. I't the insinuation we have all been brainwashed and are incapable of independent thought or opinion that grates.

One final point. Earlier in this thread you said (and I paraphrase) how invisible Nick Hawker was and most fans wouldn't know him from Adam. Last night you were comparing him to President Xi. Which is it?

 

[Matt Phillips]

Good questions.

They're completely lacking in commercial skills. Football clubs are public goods, but should be run as businesses to maximise their potential. I couldn't name a single person on the Trust board - genuinely nice people that they are - who has run a business before.

I think some (not all) have a Marxist view of life because they only seem to care about community projects at Exeter City. I've been to enough Trust meetings to witness it first-hand. Now, nobody in their right mind would argue that community isn't important. Of course it is. But it's not the reason for being a football club. The reason for being a football club is to play football and win matches. Somehow, along the way, the Trust have got their priorities in the wrong order. Or perhaps it's always been that way. Either way I feel strongly it is condemning Exeter City to mediocrity when it's potential is considerably higher than League 2.

No, I'm not going to stand again. The Trust is simply not the right place for me. I cannot affect positive change through the Trust in my opinion. That's not sour grapes - I respect the democratic vote - I just know that it's not a good fit for either side as our thinking is so different.

I think you miss the whole point of the Trust and to an extent the Club.

Yes, we obviously want to compete at the highest level possible, but the Club primarily serves the community. If we move away from that, then we have no club and no standard of football. Yes, the Trust can be more commercial in what it does, but this should be in creating opportunities from the community work it does rather than the other way around. Also, equating running a business with commercial skills is abit of a stretch. The people I know who are the most commercial are those who've had the opportunity to work across multiple organisations, learning from each as they go, rather than being within an environment which they have control over and don't see anything else of (living in an echo chamber)... Maybe that's why you're so entrenched in your view?!


Going back to the point of the thread, I think that the Trust communication has been entirely appropriate. We've had joint statements from Club and Trust, Nick did the interview and Pete Holding wrote the cover note on the Trust email sent yesterday. The last thing that either the Club/Trust want is messaging that contradicts each other and could put them into a difficult situation. The comms around the finances should definitely be led by the Club, so I'd more be asking the question, why haven't we heard from Keith Mason?

 

[Boyo]

Ed - firstly I welcome your input here. I don't necessarily agree with everything you say and some of your ideas are contrary to mine, but I do read your posts with interest, which I use to inform my own view. Your sweeping statements and dismissive attitudes to certain posters is not pleasant to read however.
So here's a question for you. If you were given the keys to a L2 football club in a small provincial city, dominated by tourism, students and a love of an egg shaped ball game, how would you run it? What are the fundamental, structural differences to how ECFC are currently run? Your thoughts, very much appreciated (sincerely).

 

[Fareham Grecian]

Nice try. Playing the man is always the sign of fear and a weak argument.

Like when you call people ‘fruit loop anarchists’ and ‘Marxists’?

 

[iscalad]

 

[DB9]

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(C) H. Wolowitz, The Big Bang Theory